Banjo-Threeie is Rare’s third installment of their Banjo-Kazooie franchise, following Gruntilda after she hires a scientist to construct her an artificial body which she then uses to invade Spiral Mountain.
This time she kidnaps Captain Blubber’s crew in order to gain access to Jiggy. To retrieve Jiggy the player must defeat her and rescue his or her crew from captivity.
Levels
Banjo threeie features classic platforming gameplay like that found in its predecessor games, whereby players must jump over gaps, climb up ledges, swim underwater and bounce off shock spring pads in each level to progress. Furthermore, players are free to roam throughout worlds instead of following linear corridors like most games do; part of Banjo Threeie’s design philosophy was teaching players they could explore each corner and uncover secrets within.
Spiral Mountain serves as an introduction to game controls and collecting Jiggies, with later levels moving onto forest with mushrooms, underground tunnel with termites, and sandy deserts with spiders – each world boasting their own boss who needs to be defeated to unlock that final Jiggy that allows progression through each level.
After successfully completing several levels, players can unlock additional worlds by solving Jigsaw Puzzle pictures found within shortcuts leading to Gruntilda Winkybunion’s lair. Or they could collect musical notes to open Note Doors that open into new areas of the game – this way opening new areas within Banjo-Kazooie Threeie that features many familiar characters from its predecessor games!
Through the course of the game, the player will need to rescue Jinjos that have been imprisoned in each world and complete puzzles to make boss battles easier. Additionally, this version features an improved main menu with three save files, an improved music system and a complete list of collectables available for discovery in-game.
End sequence references planned sequel Banjo-Threeie but was never released. Six years after Banjo-Kazooie came out, Microsoft released Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Xbox 360 which brought back this franchise and gave fans hope that there may be another installment coming out in future installments of this beloved series.
Characters
Rare was hoping to follow up the success of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie with another installment called Banjo-Threeie; however, Microsoft acquired Rare and this game never saw the light of day; nevertheless, its characters remain iconic and well known among fans today.
Kazooie stands in stark contrast to Banjo; she often picks fights and disagrees with him. Her character can be quite complex. Yet she also has a soft side and affectionate nature toward those she cares for, suggesting she might not be as mean as first impression would suggest.
Bottles, Tooty and Humba Wumba have returned in full force from previous games; however, this time they no longer play banjo or kazoo like before; instead they live together on the Isle of Hags and embark upon many exciting adventures with friends!
Drill Sergeant Jamjars is the brother of Bottles, the short-sighted mole. In this game he takes over Bottles’ role by teaching Banjo how to reach Gruntilda in Cauldron Keep. Often dressed in stereotypical army gear and instructing through military chants. Jamjars has great interaction with players as he often gets into playful banter between moves or gets involved in debates with Kazooie.
Gruntilda returns in Banjo-Threeie with plans of destroying the world yet again. Her soul is then transferred into an artificial body called Mecha-Grunty constructed by Klungo and she kidnaps Kazooie to prevent her ever meeting Banjo; however, Banjo and Kazooie manage to dismantle Mecha-Grunty to save Kazooie from Gruntilda and save her.
Bozzeye returns as the sick and dying resident of Sickening Stinking Sewers; Gobi the Camel can be found residing in Mountains of Burning Toast; Tanktup has recently joined Thugz under Jolly Dodger and now resided at Tropic Topic Ocean as their leader; Master Jiggywiggy can be found leading Jiggywiggy Temple located within Witchyworld.
Roysten is Banjo’s goldfish and non-playable character who still appears at various points during gameplay. Most often seen swimming near Banjo’s bed, Roysten sometimes ventures off into dangerous places that require Banjo to rescue it from danger.
Jiggies
Jiggies are collectables found throughout each world of Banjo-Kazooie and can be found represented by jig-o-vision icons seen on the map screen. Furthermore, players can unlock new abilities by collecting Red and Golden Feathers as well as Special Eggs found throughout each level; these eggs will unlock special moves for both Banjo and Kazooie!
As with other games in the series, a set number of Jiggies are needed to open world act doors; an increasing amount is required each time. Once collected, Banjo and Kazooie can enter Jiggywiggy’s temple to progress to a new world – although solving Jiggywiggy’s moving picture puzzle no longer requires solving to advance!
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts boasts much larger and more detailed jiggles, with less emphasis on minigames. Instead, players use the left joystick to control Banjo’s movements while holding down A button allows swimming. Achieve higher jumps by pressing joystick all the way; press slightly bit for shorter ones or completely for higher ones! Pressing little makes him jump; pushing all the way makes his jump higher than normal! Furthermore, an analog stick on controller enables users to control camera movement during gameplay!
Two years have passed since the events of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge. Gruntilda returns to Spiral Mountain under her assumed identity of Miss Bucket, recruiting Bottles, Klungo, and the Jinjos to help take back Spiral Mountain; Banjo’s sister Tooty remains at Isle O’ Hags with Claire as part of their plan.
As in previous games, Gruntilda’s minions destroyed a Jiggy in Glitter Gulch Mine and forced Banjo and Kazooie to collect its pieces and put it back together again. Some Jiggies contain specific colors representing characters who created them; each hue can reveal part of their story – for instance green represents Tooty losing her beauty to Gruntilda while purple symbolizes Tooty’s arch-enemy Klungo.
Mumbo
Mumbo Jumbo is an approachable yet mysterious shaman who assists Banjo and Kazooie across multiple worlds with magic and transformations, often assuring them with assistance from Humba Wumba who he considers more powerful. Mumbo rarely refers to either character by name; instead referring to them by the nicknames bear and bird instead. He occasionally jokes about Banjo being transformed and mistaken for a washing machine during these occasions.
Mumbo can be summoned by pressing B, A or R and performing various magical feats while standing on Mumbo pads. His abilities range from making statues come to life to fixing trains and mechanical equipment to changing into different creatures – helping Banjo and Kazooie defeat Gruntilda and return to the past.
Mumbo appears as an important character in both Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie; in Banjo-Kazooie he can be found inside Mumbo’s Skull; while in Banjo-Tooie, he appears in every world, acting as an object-transforming witch with various powers that grant players special abilities or enable access to secret areas within levels; they may even help unlock extra vehicle parts when completed tasks in each game world.
Gloomy Gnome Garden, the initial world in the game, is an expansive forest full of diverse plant life. It offers an accessible gameplay similar to Banjo-Kazooie; players can collect some Jiggies before meeting Mumbo; then, when Mumbo detects that they possess a Stop ‘N’ Swop egg he will direct them towards an area with special secrets for them to discover.
The second world in the game is a rocky planet filled with animals from all corners, as well as some cameos from Donkey Kong Isle from Banjo-Kazooie. Its level design echoes that of its counterpart: large expanses of solid ground are separated by short side areas where players must hunt jiggies or collect certain other items, like honey or paint; once found they should talk to Mumbo who will direct them towards a secret area in which lies a crate containing this treasure chest containing it!